Friday, May 23, 2025

Environment

“Kancha Gachibowli possesses all characteristics of a forest,” says CEC appointed by Supreme Court

In the ongoing Kancha Gachibowli dispute at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), appointed by the Supreme Court, has found that the entire 2,374 acres of land, which the Telangana government intended to acquire for industrialisation, prima facie “appears to possess all the characteristics of a forest.”

Earthquake of magnitude 5.6 strikes Afghanistan; tremors reach Delhi-NCR

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook parts of Afghanistan on Wednesday, triggering tremors that were reportedly felt as far as the Delhi-NCR region in India, according to Reuters.

Myanmar-Thailand earthquake death toll passes 1,000

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Myanmar and thousands more injured after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake the day before that was also felt in neighbouring countries.

India ranks 5th in air pollution, Assam’s Byrnihat world’s most polluted city, Delhi most polluted capital

According to the World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, Byrnihat in Assam is the most polluted city in the world, registering an average PM2.5 level of 128 µg/m³, while Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally.

Supreme Court orders compensation for NCR construction workers affected by pollution ban

The Supreme Court of India directed the states within the National Capital Region (NCR)—namely Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan—to compensate construction workers affected by bans imposed under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to control air pollution on Friday. 

TN: Parandur, Ekanapuram villagers unite against Greenfield Airport proposal; A three-year struggle for land, livelihood, and identity

Villagers of Parandur and Ekanapuram in Tamil Nadu have crossed 922 days of their protest and are heading towards the 1000th day. The natives and farmers have been protesting to show their disapproval of the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to build a new greenfield airport for Chennai in Parandur by acquiring their land.

Global temperatures passed critical 1.5°C milestone for the first time in 2024

Matthew Wright, University of Oxford; Nicholas Leach, University of Oxford, and Shirin Ermis, University of Oxford The earth’s climate experienced its hottest year in 2024. Extreme flooding in April killed...
- Advertisement -

Yellow alert issued for dense fog in Delhi, disrupting flights and reducing visibility

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Delhi due to dense fog, which has significantly reduced visibility across the city and disrupted flight schedules. Authorities have urged travelers to recheck their flight statuses before heading to the airport and to allow extra time for their commute.

Survivors commemorate 20 years since Indian Ocean tsunami

Memorials were held in several countries across Asia for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 227,000 people.
- Advertisement -

Arctic Ocean may see its 1st ‘ice-free’ day by 2027, study warns

The Arctic Ocean could have its first ice-free day as early as 2027, marking a critical turning point in the planet’s climate, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

Environmental racism enabled forty years of injustice for survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy: Amnesty

For the past four decades, a woefully inadequate and callous response towards the victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy has been enabled by environmental racism, Amnesty International...
- Advertisement -

Negotiators fail to agree on UN treaty to curb global plastic pollution

Environmental groups on Sunday decried the conclusion of a United Nations summit designed to secure an international treaty to combat plastic pollution after powerful oil- and gas-producing nations refused to agree to production limits and other more aggressive measures to curb pollution.

Cyclone Fengal: Heavy rains disrupt Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

Heavy rains continue to batter Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as Cyclone Fengal hovers over the Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that the cyclone will make landfall near Puducherry this afternoon.
- Advertisement -

Winter is coming in Gaza: Over a million without shelter

As winter approaches, over one million Palestinians in genocide-hit Gaza are facing the harsh reality of insufficient shelter amidst cold and rainy weather, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

No progress in lowering earth’s warming projections for 3 years, warns COP29

For the third consecutive year, efforts to combat climate change have failed to reduce the projected increase in global temperature, according to a report released at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
- Advertisement -

Over 3,000 lives lost to extreme weather in India so far this year: Report

A recent report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed that India experienced extreme weather events on 93% of the days in the first nine months of 2024. This relentless frequency led to over 3,000 fatalities and the destruction of more than 200,000 homes across the country.

2024 poised to be hottest year on record, EU scientists report

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) recently projected that 2024 will almost certainly become the hottest year on record, surpassing the high temperatures of 2023.
- Advertisement -